学校管理：我为什么要关心？
Beyond the Classroom: Why Governance is Key to Your Child's Success
I’ve recently watched the slow erosion of quality at my son’s international school in a major city in Southeast Asia. The change wasn't dramatic - there was no single moment of crisis. Instead, it was like watching the tide go out, gradually revealing the problems beneath.
The school had been acquired by a private equity firm, and over time, the signs became clear. My son's chemistry teacher would never have been hired in the school's earlier days. The enthusiasm and professionalism that had once characterised the teaching staff was fading.
What had changed? Teacher pay had stagnated, yes, but more fundamentally, the school's culture had shifted. The governing body's focus had narrowed to metrics and spreadsheets, missing the vital elements that make a school great.
As parents, we notice what matters day-to-day: the spark in a great teacher's classroom, our children's enthusiasm for learning, and the head teacher who knows every student by name. These daily interactions tell us so much about a school's quality. They should.
But what I've learned, both as a parent and a school governor, is that these daily experiences don't just happen by chance. Over the long run, they're the result of decisions made in board rooms by the governors and the school’s senior leadership teams: Who gets hired and who is moved on? What gets prioritised? How do we maintain and improve teaching quality? When do we invest in professional development?
What Does Good Governance Look Like in Practice?
At The Schools Trust, every board meeting includes a deep dive into parent feedback. Not just satisfaction scores, but real analysis: What do parents see that we might be missing? How do we turn constructive suggestions into actual improvements?
Take professional development - it's easy for a board to simply approve a budget line item. But good governance asks deeper questions: Are we helping teachers grow in ways that benefit our students? When we support professional growth, whether through the NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship), mentorship, AI best practices workshops, or in other areas, it's part of a strategic vision for building educational excellence.
Different Models, Different Outcomes
International schools broadly fall into three governance models, each with distinct challenges:
Corporate and Private Equity-owned schools often have substantial financial resources, yet paradoxically, they often re-invest less in their schools than expected. As I experienced firsthand, their narrow focus on financial metrics misses what makes a school truly excellent. It's not about the buildings - it's about understanding which elements of education need attention and support. Quality inevitably suffers when teacher pay stagnates and professional development gets cut.
Legacy international schools, often started decades ago by embassies or oil companies, show fascinating contrasts. Singapore's Tanglin Trust School demonstrates how legacy governance can excel - maintaining exceptional standards through clear vision and strong leadership. But this success isn't easily replicated. Many legacy schools have boards drawn from local business councils or diplomatic communities - well-intentioned people who may lack the expertise to properly oversee school leadership. Without proper oversight, some legacy schools lose their way, becoming dominated by powerful heads and senior leadership. When a head starts turning up in a chauffeur-driven S-Class, it's usually a sign that governance has lost control of the school's priorities.
The Schools Trust Approach
Our approach combines educational expertise with professional management. Here's what this means in practice:
Leadership Excellence: We recruit school heads from globally respected institutions, ensuring that our schools are led by experienced educators who understand both academic excellence and school culture. At ISJ, our founding head came from Queen’s College, London, a prestigious independent school with a long history of academic distinction, while our current head, Eileen Fisher, previously led Ipswich High School, a well-regarded UK independent school known for its strong academics and holistic education. These backgrounds mean that our leaders bring a deep understanding of what makes a great school thrive.
True Professional Development: We invest in our teachers meaningfully. It's not just about sending staff to conferences - it's about creating career pathways. Two of our staff members are currently undertaking their NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship) - the UK's prestigious qualification for aspiring head teachers. Our AI training workshops help teachers integrate new technologies effectively. Cross-school collaboration means innovations spread quickly through our network.
Financial Stability without Compromise: Strong financial planning means our schools aren't forced into reactive decisions. We maintain competitive teacher pay and invest in facilities and programs without compromising educational quality. But more importantly, we understand that great schools aren't built through spreadsheets alone - they're built through attention to the elements that truly matter in education.
我们的受托人创办的国际学校
我们的受托人拥有 50 多年创办和运营顶级国际学校的综合经验。作为管理委员会，他们帮助学校制定政策，在实施学校发展计划时提供指导，构建管理系统，并监督组织的慈善工作。
我们的受托人已在全球创办了 15 所国际学校，开发了 30 多个校区。每所学校都是从无到有，从小规模起步，历经数年发展。这种方法既能确保严格的质量控制，又能让每所学校形成自己的独特个性。
学校信托基金会是一家在英国注册的慈善机构（注册号：1176052），作为一个管理机构，致力于在全球范围内推广卓越教育。
The Power of a Connected Network
Our schools benefit from shared expertise across continents. Take Eileen Fisher, Head of ISJ - before joining us, she chaired the Prep Heads' Committee for the Girls' Day School Trust, mentoring heads across the UK. This kind of leadership experience enriches all our schools.
When one school innovates successfully, others can follow quickly. Whether it's curriculum developments, teacher training approaches, or new extracurricular programs, good ideas spread rapidly across our network.
Looking to the Future
From Beijing to New York, from Moscow to Brazil, and from Lithuania to Malaysia, our schools share a commitment to educational excellence. As we expand to new locations like Bali and Abu Dhabi, each school strengthens the network while maintaining its unique character.
Having seen both sides - as a parent at schools with different governance models and as a school governor - I understand how crucial these "behind the scenes" decisions are. Good governance means that when we drop our children off at school, we can be confident that:
Their teachers are supported and motivated
Educational quality drives decision-making
The school has both the resources and expertise to keep improving
Long-term thinking protects what makes the school special
The board might not be visible in our daily interactions, but their work ensures those interactions keep getting better year after year. That's what professional governance means for our children's education.
雅加达独立学校（ISJ）是雅加达领先的英国学校，招收 2-13 岁的儿童，提供黄金标准的英国国家课程。在我们从英国顶级独立学校精挑细选的教师的推动下，我们的学生始终取得优异的学业成绩。
Curiosity. Logic. Independence. Learn how ISJ’s British approach builds the critical thinking skills students need for the future — visit www.isj.id.